On Monday, Curtis and I drove into Amherst to park the truck and then biked along the Norwottuck Rail Trail into Northampton. It's a really cool paved trail system on the old railbed. Unfortunately, someone with good intentions (but very little biking knowledge) thought it would be a good idea to pave the way using recycled glass from local bottles. And not just the little flecks that you normally see in roads--we're talking big chunks here. So needless to say, I got a flat. And our CO2 cartridge for our pump was empty. Oops. Curtis came to my rescue by biking into Northampton to buy a new tube and a pump that will now permanently travel with me on my bike. It was only a small delay anyway. We finished our trip into Northampton and then biked back to Scotti's house for the evening.
We got to spend Tuesday with Scotti at the Montague Mill, an old mill converted into a used bookstore, cafe, and music store too. We walked over with her and her handsome dog Henry, and spent a leisurely afternoon reading our books in the courtyard and checking out the bookstore. Not too shabby.
The bookstore
We found some shade for reading during the hot day
That afternoon we drove a couple towns over to see Guy & Karen and got to sleep inside for the first time in a week! I got to use by Dinosaur Train knowlege to have a fun play session with their son Colden too. Guy took us out to the local crag the next day where I finally did my first lead climb with Guy's coaxing. It was embarrassingly easy, but I guess it still counts.
My first lead climb!
Our destination for Thursday was Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Willow, NY. Last fall, their director had contacted me about using my Cows drawing on a tshirt and they came up with this cute design: http://wfas.enstore.com/item/eat-kale-not-cow-organic. They've been on my list ever since for a visit. We got a personal tour of sorts around the whole farm and got to meet and greet with all the animals. They have rescued ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, goats, cows, pigs, sheep and probably some others that I've forgotten. Here are a few of my new friends:
This is Billy. He is adorable.
Here's my tshirt for sale hanging up in the Visitor Center:
From Woodstock we drove to New Paltz. We checked out the climbing shop downtown and a few other places and were greeted with a lovely parking ticket when we got back to the car. Despite the rain and the fact that the major town road flooded a few minutes later, they still felt the need to ticket us 1 minute after the meter expired. Thanks New Paltz.
Friday morning was still a little damp, so we took our time fixing breakfast at our campsite. By the time we were ready, the day was looking much nicer. We drove to the Gunks (Shawangunk ridge) and had a great day of climbing in The Trapps, thanks to our new friend John who gladly shared his guide book. There was so much to choose from!
Carriage roads through the preserve
So much rock to choose from!
Friday night we drove out to Curtis's Uncle Bill's camp just across the border in Pennsylvania. The fall chill finally caught up with us so we stoked a fire in the woodstove, cranked the record player and snuggled in for the night with our books. Rain and wind kept us in most of the day Saturday too; it was a good day for napping (just ask Curtis). Today we are visiting with Bill and Joanie at their home in Honesdale. We walked the downtown, checked out the Souper Autumn Sunday happenings, and just returned from a lovely dinner. We're off to NYC next!
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